European officials are drafting plans for an embargo on Russian oil products, a move long resisted because of its big costs for Germany and its potential to disrupt politics around the region and increase energy prices, The New York Times writes.
"The European Union is now likely to adopt a similarly phased ban of Russian oil, E.U. officials and diplomats said. The approach is designed to give Germany, in particular, time to arrange alternative suppliers," the article reads.
The earliest the proposed E.U. embargo will be put up for negotiation will be after the final round of the French elections, on April 24, to ensure that the impact on prices at the pump doesn’t fuel the populist candidate Marine Le Pen and hurt president Emmanuel Macron’s chances of re-election, officials said.
